Egypt were denied their first World Cup victory after Romelu Lukaku forced home an equalizer just seconds from time to draw Belgium 1-1 in their Group G opener.
Emam Ashour’s stunning 19th-minute away goal in the sweltering Seattle heat gave Egypt their first lead at the World Cup break.
But the seven-time Africa Cup of Nations winners could not wait 92 years for their first victory in the competition as Belgium’s top scorer, Lukaku, came off the bench.
After 22 seconds of arrival, the Napoli striker forced a goal from Mohamed Hany who was assisted by Thomas Meunier in the 66th minute.
Belgium almost finished the conversion, but Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobier saved Brandon Mechele’s goal, and Lukaku went over the bar.
An exciting end-of-year showdown at the Seattle Stadium saw veteran Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah go head-to-head, both having their moments.
On his 34th birthday, Salah provided Ashour with his magnificent opening goal to become the first African player on record (since 1966) to register a World Cup goal involvement on their birthday.
But De Bruyne did his best to spoil the Liverpool star’s big day as he hit the post with a second-half free-kick before Belgium scored the first goal as they sparked the Red Devils to life.
The player, 34, needed his Napoli teammate Lukaku to help him salvage a point from the bench as Belgium will face Iran next and Egypt will face New Zealand.
Highlights from Seattle…
Kevin De Bruyne (left) of Belgium comes close to scoring in Seattle
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20: GOAL! Ashour hammers home his first goal for Egypt.
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33: WAIT! Courtois makes a stunning save from Zico’s low shot on goal to deny Egypt a second.
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45+1: PROBLEM! Doku fires his volley from close range as Belgium fail to find a goal in the first half.
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53: Delete POST! De Bruyne hits a free-kick that curls the wrong side of the post.
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55: IT SHOULD BE 2-0! Courtois pushes Salah’s head towards Ashour, but he hits too hard.
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63: HUGE OPPORTUNITY! De Bruyne has Belgium’s first shot on target but puts it straight at the keeper.
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66: YOUR GOAL EQUALISER! A quick strike from Lukaku 22 seconds in forces a goal for Mohamed Hany.
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82: UP SAVE! Egypt’s goalkeeper Shobeir denies Mechele’s header.
Analysis: Salah as No 10 – have Slot and Liverpool missed a trick?
Sky Sports’ Peter Smith:
Another year old, another string to his bow? Mo Salah played an unknown role for Egypt against Belgium and it is a logical move.
By bringing him inside, Egypt manager Hossam Hassan contained Salah’s attack – he found Emam Ashour scoring their goal – and was able to introduce Mostafa Zico to provide power up and down the right.
Mohamed Salah played as number 10 for Egypt vs Belgium after playing heavily up the right for Liverpool
Too often under Arne Slott at Liverpool last season, Salah appeared to be out on the edge, occupying a position too wide to threaten the opposition’s goal. And that was evident in his abundance. Defensively, the Liverpool defender also suffered.
Now 34, the King of Egypt will not be able to maintain the same volume of high runs but he can still use his skill and experience to make an impact in and around the box. That has been proven by him leading his team’s statistics in terms of chances created, passing accuracy and errors won.
With talented teammates around him (including Ashuur, Zico and, most notably, Omar Marmoush), Salah – who is still working his way back to full form after his hamstring issue – could play a key role for Egypt in North America. Their wait for their first World Cup victory will come in their next two games based on this evidence.
Belgium manager Garcia: It was a great game
Belgium coach Rudi Garcia:
“The opening game of a tournament like the World Cup is always difficult, especially when we face top teams in Africa like Egypt.
“We were able to equalize because of the player who came off the bench, which shows how important the whole squad is.
“We had chances to win it, but their goalkeeper did very well. It was a good game between two very good teams.”
